In 2015, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $1.4 billion, making them the 6th-most valuable franchise in MLB; their revenue the previous year was $294 million and operating income of $73.6 million was the highest in MLB.[5] Since their purchase in 1995, ownerWilliam DeWitt, Jr.'s investment group has seen enormous growth from the $147 million purchase price. John Mozeliak is the general manager and Mike Matheny is the manager.[6] Renowned for strong support from fans—despite being in one of the sport's mid-level markets, the Cardinals routinely see attendances among the league's highest, and are consistently among the Top 3 in MLB in local television ratings.[7][8]

The magnitudes of the reorganizations following the 1877 and 1881 seasons are such that the 1875-1877 and 1878-1881 Brown Stockings teams are not generally considered to share continuity as a franchise with the current St. Louis Cardinals;[10][11]

The AA went bankrupt after the 1891 season and the Browns transferred to the National League. This time, the club entered an era of stark futility. Between 1892 and 1919, St. Louis managed just five winning seasons, finished in last or next-to-last place sixteen times, and ended four seasons with 100 losses or more. The nadir was the 1897 season: a 29–102 record for a franchise-worst .221 winning percentage.[3] St. Louis' 84-67 finish as the Perfectos would be the team's best finish between the AA era and Sam Breadon's purchase of the team.[22] As the "Perfectos", the team wore their jersey with a cardinal red trim and sock striping.[22] Later that season, St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale included an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of cardinal." Fans liked the moniker "Cardinals" and, the next year, popularity for the nickname induced an official change to Cardinals.[22]

In 2009, the Cardinals reached 10,000 wins, dating to when they first played in the American Association (AA).[d][88][89] St. Louis returned to the playoffs in 2011, first surmounting the largest games-won deficit after 130 games (at 10.5) to upstage the Atlanta Braves on the final day for the wild card playoff berth.[90] In Game 3 of the World Series, Pujols became just third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game.[91] In Game 6, third baseman David Freese and outfielder Lance Berkman each tied the score on the Cardinals' final strike – the first such occurrence in any game in MLB history – and St. Louis defeated the Texas Rangers later that game with a walk-off home run from Freese.[92] After winning that Series, La Russa retired and became the only manager to do so after winning a title. He also finished with the most wins for managers in franchise history with 1,408.[93][94]

La Russa's successor, Mike Matheny, helped extend St. Louis' playoff run as he became the first manager in the division play era to guide the Cardinals to the NLCS and playoffs in his first two seasons.[95] In 2014, the Cardinals extended their NLCS streak to 4, with their 3-1 series victory over the Dodgers, in the NLDS. Ten days after being eliminated from the postseason by the San Francisco Giants, rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident while traveling to his hometown Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.[96] On November 17, they acquired Atlanta Braves right-fielder Jason Heyward (who had just come off a Gold Glove-winning season) to replace Taveras.[97] On June 16, 2015, the FBI and the Justice Department started an investigation on the Cardinals for possibly hacking the Houston Astros. It is unknown if this hack was done by a group of executives, or everyone in the Cardinals front office.[98]

Ballpark Village, a mixed-use development located across Clark Street from Busch Stadium, is targeted to enhance the ballpark goers' experience. Phase 1 of the development, completed for the start of the 2014 season, includes entertainment venues, restaurants, and retail. Anchored by Cardinals Nation (which includes the Cardinals Hall of Fame, a two-story Cardinals-themed restaurant and all-inclusive rooftop seating for 300+ fans featuring spectacular views of the field across the street), a 20,000 sq ft Budweiser Brew House, FOX Sports Midwest Live! and PBR, the $100 million phase 1 development of Ballpark Village promises to be a vibrant gathering space throughout the year, not just during the baseball season.[109]

Busch Stadium is the Cardinals' fourth home ballpark and the third of that name. The Cardinals' original home ballpark was Sportsman's Park from 1882–1892 when they played in the American Association and were known as the Browns. In 1893, the Browns moved to a new ballpark five blocks northwest of Sportsman's Park which would serve as their home from 1893-1920. The new park was originally called New Sportsman's Park but became more commonly referred to as Robison Field.[22] Midway through the 1920 season the Cardinals abandoned Robison Field and returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns. In 1953, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery purchased the Cardinals and the new owner subsequently also purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, later becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after the season. The Cardinals built Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis, opened it during the 1966 season and played there until 2005.[48] It was built as the multi-purpose home of both the baseball Cardinals and the St. Louis football Cardinals, now the Arizona Cardinals. The current Busch Stadium was constructed adjacent to, and partly atop, the site of Busch Memorial Stadium.

The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on the team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1900. Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. In 1920, the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill.

The original "birds on the bat" logo, which first appeared in 1922.

In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured the two familiar cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. The concept of the birds originated after general managerBranch Rickey noticed a colorful cardboard arrangement featuring cardinal birds on a table in a Presbyterianchurch in Ferguson, Missouri, at which he was speaking. The arrangement's production was by a woman named Allie May Schmidt. Schmidt's father, a graphic designer, helped Ricky make the logo a familiar staple on Cardinals uniforms.[111] Colloquially referred to as the "birds on the bat," it initially appeared with the birds perched on a black bat and "Cardinals" in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940, the now-familiar "StL" logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking "StL" has undergone several slight modifications over the years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "STL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955, the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking "StL" while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951, the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat.[112]

The current "birds on the bat" logo introduced in 1998.

In 1956, the Cardinals changed their caps to solid blue with a red "StL," removing the red bill. Also, for that season only, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on their uniforms excluding the "birds on the bat." An updated version of the "birds on the bat" logo returned in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" written in cursive beneath the bat. In 1962, the Cardinals became the first National League team to display players' names on the back of their jerseys. In 1964, while retaining their blue caps for road games, the Cardinals changed their home caps to all red with a white interlocking "StL". The next year, they changed their road caps to red as well. In 1967, the birds on the bat emblem on the jersey was again tweaked, making the birds more realistic and changing the position of their tails relative to the bat and this version remained on all Cardinals game jerseys through 1997.

In 1971, following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced the traditional flannel front-button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover knit jerseys and elastic waist pants. Another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976–1984. In 1992, the Cardinals returned to wearing traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year they also began wearing an all-navy cap with a red "StL" on the road only while wearing the same red and white cap at home games. In 1998, the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 30 years with more detailed birds and bolder letters. That year, St. Louis introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat worn only on Sunday home games. The new birds on the bat design was modified again the next year, with yellow beaks and white eyes replacing the red beaks and yellow eyes of the 1998 version. Uniform numbers also returned to the front of the jerseys in 1999 after a two-year absence.[112]

On November 16, 2012, the Cardinals unveiled a new alternate uniform to be worn at home games on Saturdays beginning with the 2013 season.[dated info] The modified jersey, cream-colored with red trim on the sleeves and down the front, was the first since 1932 in which "St. Louis" will be used instead of "Cardinals" and retained the "birds on the bat."[113] 2013 also saw the team adopt their red caps as their main uniform for both home and away games; the navy cap was retained as an alternate, used mainly against other red-capped teams. Over the years, the Cardinals have released various marketing logos depicting anthropomorphized cardinals in a pitching stance, swinging a baseball bat, or wearing a baseball cap that never became part of the game uniform.[112]

The team mascot is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform named Fredbird. He is assisted by Team Fredbird, a group of eleven women who entertain fans from the field and on top of the dugouts.

While unofficial, the Rally Squirrel became an unexpected phenomenon during the 2011 postseason. Making its "debut" in Game 3 of the NLDS on Oct 4, a squirrel ran across home plate in the middle of a pitch from Roy Oswalt of the Phillies to the Cardinals' Skip Schumaker. The Cardinals would win Game 4 and subsequently Game 5 (Oct. 7) in Philadelphia to advance to the NLCS, symbolizing the squirrel's "role" in the victory. The squirrel was popularized as "Buschie the Rally Squirrel"[114] As a tribute to the popularity of the squirrel, a small depiction of the Rally Squirrel is also included on the official World Series rings the team received. It shows up under the "STL" logo on the side of the ring.

Fredbird sparked controversy in May 2015, when he was asked by a fan for a photograph and handed him a sign that said "Police Lives Matter". The team later claimed that Fredbird should not be involved in any political activity or social commentary.

The Cardinals–Cubs rivalry refers to games between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. The rivalry is also known as the Downstate Illinois rivalry or the I-55 Series (in earlier years as the Route 66 Series) as both cities are located along Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous U.S. Route 66). The Cubs lead the series 1,104–1,065 through June 14, 2013,[115] while the Cardinals lead in National League pennants with 19 against the Cubs' 16. The Cubs have won 10 of those pennants in Major League Baseball's Modern Era (1901–present), while all 19 of the Cardinals' pennants have been won since 1901. The Cardinals also have an edge when it comes to World Series successes, having won 11 championships to the Cubs' two. The Cardinals also have an advantage over their Chicago rivals in the regular season standings since the Cubs last participated in a World Series (1945): in the 66 seasons from 1946 through 2013, the Cardinals have finished ahead of the Cubs 51 times. In that same span, the Cardinals have had 47 seasons in which their winning percentage was over .500, while the Cubs have finished over that mark 19 times (they finished at an even .500 twice). Games featuring the Cardinals and Cubs see numerous visiting fans in either Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Wrigley Field in Chicago.[116] When the National League split into two and then three divisions, the Cardinals and Cubs remained together. This has added excitement to several pennant races over the years.

Although both teams play in the state of Missouri, they did not play each other for the first time until the 1985 World Series, which the Royals won in seven games, but which is perhaps best remembered for a controversial call from umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6. Due to their geographical proximity, the teams have faced each other every regular season in interleague play since it started in 1997. This is also referred to as the "Show Me Series" or the "I-70 Series", as both cities are located in Missouri and are connected by Interstate 70. The two teams are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their rivalry in 2015.

An investment group led by William DeWitt, Jr. owns the St. Louis Cardinals, having bought the team from Anheuser-Busch (AB) in 1996.[117] As with other periods of the Cardinals' transaction history, doubt loomed as to whether the purchaser would keep the team in St. Louis, due to the city's status as a "small market," which appear to handicap a club's competitiveness. Such was the case when Sam Breadon put the Cardinals up for sale in 1947: then-NL PresidentFord Frick proposed moving the Cardinals to Chicago.[118] When AB placed the Cardinals for sale in 1995, they publicly expressed intention to find a buyer who would keep the club in St. Louis.[119] In March 1996, AB sold the team for $147 million to a partnership headed by Southwest Bank's Drew Baur, Hanser and DeWitt, Jr.[118] Civic Center Redevelopment, a subsidiary of AB, held the parking garages and adjacent property and also transferred them to the Baur ownership group.[120] Baur's group then sold the garages to another investment group, lowering the net franchise purchase price to about $100 million, about $10 million less than Financial World's value of the team at the time $110 million.[119][121]

Current Cincinnati Reds owners Bob Castellini and brothers Thomas Williams and W. Joseph Williams Jr. each once owned a stake in the Cardinals dating back to the Baur-DeWitt group's purchase of the team. To allow their purchase of the Reds in 2005, the rest of the group bought out Castellini's and the Williams brothers' shares, totaling an estimated thirteen percent. At that time, the Forbes valued the Cardinals at about $370 million.[122] However, after reabsorbing that stake into the remainder of the group, they decided to make it available to new investors in 2010. Amid later allegations that the Cardinals owed the city profit shares, DeWitt revealed that their profitability had not reached the threshold to trigger that obligation.[123]

As of 2015, Forbes valued the Cardinals sixth among all MLB franchises. Their estimated value of $1.40 billion was an increase of $580 million from the season before, when they ranked eighth. St. Louis' revenue in 2014 was $294 million. Their operating income of $73.6 million was the highest among all MLB franchises.[5][124][125] In 2014, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $820 million and opined previously that they play "in the best single-team baseball market in the country and are among the league's leaders in television ratings and attendance every season."[125] Concurrent with the growth of Major League Baseball, the Cardinals value has increased significantly since the Baur-DeWitt purchase. In 2000, the franchise was valued at $219 million,[126] a growth rate of 374% through 2014. The franchise's value grew 12.7% from 2013 to 2014.

2 Net of stadium revenues used for debt payments.3 Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.4 Includes benefits and bonuses.5 Compares the number of wins per player payroll relative to the rest of MLB. Playoff wins count twice as much as regular season wins. A score of 120 means that the team achieved 20% more victories per dollar of payroll compared with the league average in 2010.

Besides Ballpark Village, which has now finished its first phase, opening on March 27,[132][133] and considered a smashing success with the first phase of the project totaling 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2).[134] the Cardinals own four of their Minor League Baseball affililiates:

MVP Awards: Sixteen different Cardinal players have won a total of twenty Most Valuable Player awards, the most recent being Albert Pujols in 2009. Pujols and Stan Musial have collected the most MVPs with three apiece. Bob Gibson won both the Cy Young Award and the MVP award in 1968.[157] The Cardinals are second only to the New York Yankees' 22 MVP awards.[158]

Triple Crown: Four of the sixteen batting Triple Crowns in the major leagues (including three of only six in the National League) were by Cardinals. Tip O'Neill won the only American Association Triple Crown and the first in franchise history in 1887. Rogers Hornsby became the only two-time winner in NL history when he did it in 1922 and 1925 (Ted Williams won two AL Triple Crowns). Joe Medwick's Triple Crown in 1937 is the last in the history of the National League.[160] Hornsby's 1925 numbers led the entire major leagues, making him one of only five players to have won this expanded Triple Crown.

2 Grand Slams in a single inning:Fernando Tatís is the only player in Major League history to hit two grand slam home runs in the same inning, on April 23, 1999. Both were against Chan Ho Park of the Dodgers.[165]

Players listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Browns or Cardinals cap insignia.

* Has no insignia on his cap due to playing at a time when caps bore no insignia.

† Played for the AL St. Louis Browns, but not the NL St. Louis club. Because of their status as the only Major League team remaining in St. Louis, the Cardinals franchise chose to honor Sisler as a St. Louis-based player.

In 2014, the Cardinals announced the reopening of the franchise Hall of Fame after six years on hiatus. A formal selection process will recognize former Cardinals as Cardinals Hall of Famers each year. In conjunction, the team released the names of 22 former players and personnel to be inducted for the inaugural class of 2014.[166]

The Cardinals have retired twelve total jersey numbers––second in MLB only to the New York Yankees' eighteen––in honoring fourteen total former players and club personnel on the left field wall at Busch Stadium.[167][168] A fifteenth, Jackie Robinson, is honored by all MLB teams.[169] It should be noted that, during the time Rogers Hornsby had played, the Cardinals did not have any numbers on their uniforms. This practice had begun with the Cleveland Indians in 1920. Thus, Hornsby had no number to retire.

25:Mark McGwire's (1B, 1997-2001) number has not been reissued since he retired. McGwire returned to the Cardinals as hitting coach from 2010-2012, before becoming hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 to be closer to his family. Beginning with the 2015 season, #25 has been reissued to Cardinals bench coach David Bell. The number holds historical significance within the Bell baseball family.

57:Darryl Kile's (P, 2000–02) number has not been reissued since his death in the middle of the 2002 season. Along with Josh Hancock's number 32, another active pitcher deceased in the middle of the season, they are honored with small circular logos bearing their initials and numbers on the wall of the Cardinal bullpen. During the 2014 playoffs, but following the Cardinals' elimination, rookie and star prospect Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident. His number was added along with Kile's and Hancock's in the home bullpen, however his number was reissued the following season to close friend Carlos Martinez.[172]

The 2011 season marked the Cardinals' return to KMOX following five seasons on KTRS (550 AM), a station which is 50 percent owned by the Cardinals. With a partnership spanning seven decades, and continuously since 1954, its conclusion realized after the 2005 season when CBS Radio and the Cardinals failed to reach terms on a new rights agreement. However, frustrated by the underpowered coverage of 5,000-watt KTRS, the Cardinals reached a new deal with KMOX in 2011.

Mike Shannon will announce 30 fewer games in 2013, compared to the 15 he took off in 2012, and in previous seasons. Most of the games will be road games and three-city trips. He has been announcing Cardinals' games starting in 1972, making 2013 his 41st year announcing. He turns 74 in July.[173] He has announced Cardinals' games for more years than anyone except Jack Buck (1954–58, 1961-2001) who announced for 46 years.

Cardinals Kids, a program aimed at the team's younger fans, airs weekly in-season on Fox Sports Midwest. It's hosted by former Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes, team mascot Fredbird, and Busch Stadium Public Address announcer John "The U-Man" Ulett. The 30-minute show began airing in 2003 and presents team news, player profiles, and Cardinals team history in a kid-friendly manner along with games and trivia.[175]

A weekly magazine program, This Week in Cardinal Nation, airs on St. Louis' NBC affiliate KSDK. Cardinals games had been seen on KSDK (and its predecessor, KSD-TV) from 1947 through 1958, 1963 through 1987, and 2007 until 2010. KPLR-TV was the Cardinals' other over-the-air broadcaster, carrying games from 1959 through 1962 and from 1988 until 2006.

^In 2001, the Cardinals and the Houston Astros finished the season with identical records of 93–69 and finished tied for first place in the Central Division standings. The Baseball Hall of Fame wrote they were both awarded a co-championship.[1] According to the Cardinals' website, this was "the first shared championship in major-league history".[2] For playoff seeding, the NL Central slot went to Houston and St. Louis was awarded the wild card berth.

^In 1981, the Cardinals finished with the overall best record in the East Division. However, a players' strike in the middle of the season forced the season to be split into two halves. St. Louis finished second in both halves and was thereby deprived of a post-season appearance.

^Most sources consider the 1882 Brown Stockings to represent the beginning of the St. Louis Cardinals (if it was not the even earlier 1875 or 1878 clubs) but the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club itself considers its history to have begun in 1892 when the team (still called the St. Louis Browns) joined the National League.[14][15]

^Although the St. Louis Cardinals do not officially recognize their era in the American Association (AA) as part of their Major League history, Major League Baseball recognized that incarnation of the AA in 1968, as well as other historic leagues, existing as former Major Leagues.

^Lupica, Matt (January 2012). "Busch Stadium". The Baseball Stadium Insider: A Comprehensive Dissection of All Thirty Ballparks, the Legendary Players, and the Memorable Moments. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. p. 221. A lifetime .358 hitter, Hornsby was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1942, and the Cardinals honored him alongside the retired numbers with the 'SL' symbol due to his playing days predating the use of numbers.

^Snyder, John. Cardinals Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the St. Louis Cardinals Since 1882. Clerisy Press. p. 689. ISBN9781578604807.